Legendary house music party all-day festival returns - Plus: Win x4 VIP tickets

Ahead of its return, The Star spent some time with the co-founder and now brand owner, Tony Walker, alongside Marc Dennis the operations director to find out all about it — plus stay tuned there’s even the added bonus of a VIP giveaway.

Tony: “It’s not always about music, which is why we are working so hard to establish we are one of the leading exponents of house music nowadays because it has fragmented quite a lot. Our love of house has been there for thirty years and I think that shows with the events that we do.”

Seen by many as one of - if not actually - the original superclub, Love To Be had a great run. One which saw it being followed by the likes of Niche and Republic (later renamed GatecrasherOne before it burnt down in 2007).

“Our sound is not as hinged towards the heritage, as brands like Hedkandi are. We are trying to seek out new sounds and trying to follow music that we think is cutting-edge, which is what a lot of it was. It was never about looking back, it was about looking forward, and I think that’s one thing that we kind of stick to with what we are doing today.”

The legendary event returned to Sheffield back in 2021, post-Lockdown, for its 27th anniversary celebration with an all-day spectacular at Peddler Warehouse that was packed with a solid line-up, following that up in 2023 at a FORGE, a location that it now calls home. This is what they had to say about their upcoming event.

Marc: “Like Tony says, it’s about pushing new music as well as giving people that vibe. Especially in Sheffield, we get that whole Music Factory crowd and they’ve still got a thirst for new music.”

“It’s going to be something we’ve never done before, a street festival”

“We’ve been wanting to do the festival-side of things for a while, well that was always the plan. We launched in Harrogate last year and set out to do 2,000 people. But ended up with 5,000 on the day… which went really well. Alot of people came from Sheffield for the day too.”

“It just made sense to do something for the Sheffield fan-base, their own Love to be… festival, and we looked at various locations, parks, things like that. But myself and Tony went and DJ’d at a festival in the Czech Republic, called Beats for Love.

“It was in a steel forge and it was honestly unbelievable, we were really inspired by it… we sort of thought, ‘why can’t we do something similar, an inner-city festival on hard-standing ground in an industrial setting.

We wanted to expand, we love FORGE and the customers love it, so we wanted to expand the site.”

This time around Effingham Road will be closed off as Love to be… takes over the streets and surrounding areas to stage a fully-fledged festival with an increased capacity.

Tony: “The ethos of our music is not just about the accessibility but the education of it as well, something we take pride in from our DJing and giving a platform to newer artists and DJs.”

Marc: “Now what you’ve got is the older crowds kids have grown up and they’re coming to the events with them

Someone came up to us in FORGE last year, and said “my aunty told me to come here and I’ve had the best time ever”, and this guy was like 22/23.

“The younger generation are now discovering what Love to be… is about, it’s energy, a good time.”

“We touched on it after our Manchester event last week. There’s literally no phones on the dance floor, just arms in the air.”

Who’s performing?

Headlining the outdoor STREET STAGE is Queen of Electronic Music and winner of Best House DJ at the DJ Awards, Sam Divine. Also putting the huge sound system through its paces is the iconic Barbara Tucker, Todd Terry, The Shapeshifters, Adelphi Music Factory, Trimtone and more. With full production, CO2 cannons, entertainers, glitter stalls, street food, and access to the venue and courtyard, the STREET STAGE is the hub of this house music affair.

The MUSIC FACTORY STAGE over in the Warehouse, is a nod to Love to be’s… first ever home in Sheffield. With a superb line up of house music icons from the early years, including New York's Victor Simonelli, Alison Limerick performing the hit single 'Where Love Lives', Gatecrasher resident Allister Whitehead, Hacienda legend Tom Wainwright, Love to be… founder Tony Walker and more, it’s a definitive a rewind in time to the glory days of 90s house music.

Back outside on the VIP STAGE hosted by LGBTQ+ advocates funkyLove and Sheffield’s Funk My Disco, festival goers can expect back-to-back, exclusive DJ sets spanning a fusion of funky, soulful and underground nu disco, with a live performance from Soraya Vivian.

For something altogether different, Sheffield’s Mando Records will be turning the WORKROOM into an intimate rave cave, with label don Kyle Robertson at the helm.

“It’s going to be absolutely crazy”

Competition Time: Get your hands on x4 VIP tickets

In the run-up to this event, Love to be… is giving away x4 VIP tickets to one lucky winner.

Winners will get their hands on the following:

• Access to the VIP Area, including queue jump,
• VIP toilets (aka Posh loos)
• Private VIP bar
• Plus even more exclusive DJ sets and entertainment.

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning this prize is the following:

Entrants can simply email their name and mobile number to: [email protected]

T&Cs

Over 18s only.

The competition closes at 5pm on Wednesday May 21, 2025. Winner will be notified by Thursday May 22, 2025.

Event Details

Love to be...Festival Sheffield

Sunday 25 May 2025

FORGE, 148 Effingham Road, Sheffield, S4 7ZB

12pm – 11pm

Where can people get tickets?

Tickets are already selling fast and are on second release priced at £52 plus booking fee on Skiddle.com. For those wanting some extra treatment, upgrades are also available for the VIP level. Book your tickets here: https://www.skiddle.com/festivals/love-to-be-in-the-park/